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Loire Valley Self-Guided Wine Tour

My partner and I will be staying in a chateau near Angers in the Loire Valley and are renting a car. We'd like to drive around and visit some of the wineries, but I am having trouble finding any suggested itineraries for visiting vineyards. Do you have any ideas? Thank you in advance.

Chinon is also a regional wine center and has some wine houses in town itself - if you go to Azay-le-rideau there are some there as well.

When driving along the Loire in the Saumur area you have more vineyards and caves hewn into the limestone cliffs - "champignons" signs out front mean a cave where mushrooms are cultivated and you cn see the process and buy.

Drop into the Saumur tourist info on the quay and sample there before heading up to the hill behind the town for the Saumur or Saumur Champigny and the fizz at Gratien et Meyer http://www.gratienmeyer.com/ . Then head east across the river and visit St Nicolas de Bourgueil and Bourgueil (Chinon tends to offer more dried out Cab Franc than its two neighbours). Drop into Baumard http://www.baumard.fr/ and then end up at Vouvray with the coop fizz http://www.cavedevouvray.com/ at the top of the village before trying say Nicholas Brunet's little masterpieces http://www.vouvray-brunet.com/ you may have to book as he is a busy young man (though his sec is a little too new to advise as to its future).

Of these the Saumur TI charges and is worth it, the Vouvray at the large fizz producer used to be free (and may still be) and at the others, do the decent thing and buy something, T-towel, glasses or a bottle of wine.